17 Best Value Colleges In PA: New Rankings Released

The Princeton Review has released its annual edition of best value colleges that provide an "exceptional" return on investment and 17 from Pennsylvania made the cut - including four from the western side of the state.

The annual book, released this week, has seven ranking lists that each focus on different aspects of financial aid and career prep. It's meant to help individuals who want affordable colleges that are academically outstanding and lead to rewarding careers.

The four schools from western Pennsylvania on the list are:

• University of Pittsburgh

• Carnegie Mellon University

• Grove City College

• Allegheny College

The other 13:

• Swarthmore College
• Haverford College
• Lehigh University (44th best value)
• Muhlenberg College
• Bryn Mawr College
• Dickinson College
• Lafayette College
• Gettysburg College
• Franklin and Marshall College
• Bucknell University
• Pennsylvania State University
• Villanova University

The list of 200 schools is not ranked hierarchically, though there is a ranking of the top 50. The Princeton Review, an education services company, selected the 200 schools based on data from surveys of administrators at more than 650 colleges in 2017-18. The schools were asked about topics including academics, cost, financial aid, career services, graduation rates, student debt and alumni support.

The list was also based on student and alumni answers. They were asked about starting and mid-career salaries and job satisfaction.

"Only 7 percent of the nation's four-year colleges made it into this book," lead author Robert Franek said in a release. "We salute them for their stellar academics and generous aid awards to students based on need and/or merit. They also provide their undergrads with career services from day one plus strong networks of alumni connections."

California Institute of Technology claimed the No. 1 spot on the main ranking list, followed by Stanford University and Princeton University. Here are the top 10 best value colleges across the nation:

1. California Institute of Technology — Pasadena, CA
2. Stanford University — Stanford, CA
3. Princeton University — Princeton, NJ
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Cambridge, MA
5. Williams College — Williamstown, MA
6. Harvey Mudd College — Claremont, CA
7. Yale University — New Haven, CT
8. Harvard College — Cambridge, MA
9. The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art — New York, NY
10. University of Virginia — Charlottesville, VA

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Image via Shutterstock.

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